Clan Politics
by Xirin
Summary: That day Hinata decided it was time to get to know her fiancée better. Non-massacre AU.
1. Shogi

**Clan politics**

* * *

 _That day Hinata decided it was time to get to know her fiancée better. Non-massacre AU._

* * *

 **A/N: I love clichés! But I know you love them too so here we go! This is supposed to be a cheerful and sweet story, not anything serious.**

 **I originally started this as some kind of sequel to 'Dance with me' but it somehow turned out completely different. Well, the genre is the same at least. Brainless romance.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, characters or anything. This is just a hobby**

* * *

 **Chapter 1 - Shogi**

It was Hinata's third year at the Shinobi Academy, and she was currently 10 years old. Despite her status as a Main house Hyūga, she was only an average student at the Academy. It wasn't that she was a bad shinobi – she just was very shy and thus didn't stand out very much.

She wasn't very noticed at her class and her only friends were Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji, who she usually sat in the class and had lunch with. Shikamaru and Choji, of course, were friends with Yamanaka Ino because of their families but she usually hung out with her own girlfriends rather than them.

Hinata was, indeed, quite shy and thus, she had admired her bold and outgoing classmate Uzumaki Naruto for years, wishing she herself could be as brave as him.

Today, however, she felt something more for the first time when she watched him having one of his daily arguments against Iruka-sensei. Her cheeks heated and her heart pounded. What was this feeling?

"Troublesome. Hinata-chan, if you like Naruto, just say it to him. He is too thick to notice it himself", Shikamaru said, clearly reading her thoughts.

"Eep! I-I don't like N-Naruto-kun... That way.." she tried to explain but didn't believe it even herself. She was totally smitten. Just a little thought of him brought a bunch of butterflies to her stomach.

Iruka and Naruto had stopped their shouting and the lecture went on somewhat normally. Hinata, however, couldn't focus since she worried what she should do about her unwanted crush on Naruto. She had a fiancée, after all, even if she had only seen him once or twice.

The betrothal contract between Hyūga and Uchiha was signed when Hinata had been four; it was said to not only stabilize the relations between clans but also neutralize the threat of either clan alienating Konoha and doing something harmful to the village. The elders in Konoha seemed to think teamwork was the solution to everything.

The contract stated that there would be an official engagement party when Hinata turned 16, where she and her fiancée, Uchiha Itachi, would be officially introduced. The contract wasn't a secret but only very few knew about it to ensure both Hinata and Itachi somehow normal childhood without any pressure caused by other children.

They had met a couple of times; when the contract was signed, at the festival arranged to celebrate the anniversary of the construction of the Uchiha compound and events like that. But they had never really talked and she didn't even know who he actually was.

A horrible thought crossed her mind. What if she somehow had fallen totally in love with Naruto before the engagement party instead of Itachi? It would be totally her fault if their marriage and village security failed. She needed to do something before it was too late.

* * *

So, after the lessons at the Academy and her extra lessons as a kunoichi had ended that day, instead of going home like she normally did, she sprinted to the Uchiha compound. Most of the people there looked her a little weirdly, she was Main house Hyūga after all and Hyūga rarely visited here, but she kept patiently greeting everyone politely on her way to clan head's house where she knew her fiancée lived.

When she reached the door she knocked and the door opened. It was Sasuke from her class who opened it. He stared at her incredulously but there was a little boredom in his expression too. He had a lot of fangirls in the Academy, so maybe it wasn't that unusual to have unexpected visitors?

He looked a little irritated but questioning.

"Yes?" he said.

Hinata woke from her thoughts.

"O-oh. I am here to see Itachi-san", she said as normally as she could.

He openly stared at her. Maybe he didn't know about the betrothal contract? Hinata had to admit it would be a little weird for her to see Itachi in any other situation.

She heard a voice of a woman. It probably belonged to Sasuke and Itachi's mother.

"Sasu-chan? Who is at the door?"

She watched when his cheeks reddened seeing Hinata noticed the nickname.

"Hyūga Hinata", he said clearly and truthfully.

Hinata didn't have time to startle that Sasuke had actually remembered her name when his mother appeared behind him.

"Oh, Hinata-chan! You have grown up so much! Please come in, I'll make some tea!"

"Thank you, Uchiha-san, but I need to talk to Itachi-san. Is he home?"

"Please call me Mikoto! Ita-chan is in his room, it is upstairs, first door on the left."

"Thank you, Mikoto-san!" she squeaked while sprinting up to the stairs.

"Be nice!" Mikoto shouted a little slyly. Sasuke stared some more wondering was there something he didn't know and tried to guess how to spy his brother and Hyūga's conversation without Itachi noticing. He figured nothing.

Hinata stood in front of his fiancée's door. Was this really a good idea? She steeled herself. She needed to do this for her fiancée and herself and their future marriage. She knocked his door and after a while, the door slid open revealing her 15-year-old fiancée. She really tried to smile but failed miserably.

She watched him. His expression was neutral, even a little bored. He had been 6 years at ANBU, so it wasn't surprising. The only part in his face containing emotion was his eyes, but she wasn't sure if anyone but a Hyūga could see that. They had got used to stoic faces and eyes, after all.

Just like Sasuke earlier, he started with a question.

"Yes?"

"Itachi-san, I have something to discuss with you. I am not sure if you remember me, but.."

"Hyūga Hinata, my fiancée", he told her.

"Hai. Well, may I come in? This is kind of private and I don't wish anyone" -clearly meaning Sasuke- "listening."

He seemed puzzled what was so important a 10-year-old girl needed to talk to him right now, but decided to give her a chance. And he liked to annoy Sasuke by doing things closed doors.

"Very well", he said.

He stepped out of the doorway, let her in and closed the door. Then he walked to his desk and sat down. Hinata walked in too but had stayed standing in front of his desk. Then she bowed to him and blurted everything out at once.

"I am very sorry to bother you, Itachi-san, but today at the Academy when we were talking about traps, I realized I was blushing and then Shikamaru-kun said that it was because I like Naruto-kun, who is a boy from our class and it is wrong because I have a fiancée but I don't know what to do since I don't know you very well but I thought it would be fair to tell you at least."

She was completely embarrassed after she managed to stop talking. She had started blabbering and the whole issue was so awkward anyway. But it had to be done. She fought back tears.

Itachi's mouth had opened. There were not many times his life he had been shocked or even surprised but this was certainly one of them. He had to admit that his respect to the blue-haired Hyūga had raised a lot. To admit her fiancée that she liked someone else and then trying to fix the situation? While being only 10 years old? There just wasn't such innocent honesty in the shinobi world.

It was so cute and ridiculously mature at the same time that he started laughing. When had he laughed last time? He didn't remember. It sure felt good.

"Itachi-san? What is so funny?" she asked a little hurt because she thought he laughed at her.

"I am sorry, Hinata-san. I didn't mean to laugh at you. In fact, I am very flattered you wish to fix things with me even if you like someone else", he explained with a small smile.

"I don't really know what to say. How about we start by getting to know each other a little better? Can you play shogi?" he asked.

Hinata shook her head a little awkwardly.

That didn't seem to be a problem and Itachi started to explain the rules to her when Sasuke and Mikoto barged to the room.

"We heard Itachi laughing, what did you do to him?" asked they together.

Hinata blushed, not wanting to repeat. Itachi seemed to agree.

"Nothing you need to know. Are you done so we can continue our game?" he asked with barely hidden annoyance in his voice.

Mikoto didn't look content with his answer but let them alone.

She continued to appear to the compound about once a week to play shogi with him. They talked a little at the same time which allowed her to learn that he worked in ANBU but was also a good strategist. On his free time, he helped Sasuke train and hung out with his cousin and best friend Shisui.

He, on the other hand, learned why Hinata liked Naruto so much. Unlike most girls her age, she had the talent to see the person instead of good looks, which both pleased and terrified Itachi. He sure had a very fine fiancée but to get her attention would not be easy. It would be even harder if she hadn't self-imposed come to see him.

She had also told she liked flowers, tea, and cooking. She had once cooked them after their weekly shogi match when Mikoto had been on a mission (Itachi was horrible at kitchen) and it had been absolutely delicious. That was the day Itachi decided he didn't mind her visiting every day if she so wished.

* * *

Now after a few months, when Hinata had just turned 11, she was at the Academy normally. She was eating her lunch with Shikamaru and Choji, Shikamaru was playing with something that looked like a shogi piece.

"Hey, Shika-kun, is that a shogi piece?" she asked after noticing it.

Shikamaru turned to watch her but Choji decided to answer for him: "Yeah, Shika plays it home all the time. How did you recognize it? I didn't even saw him playing with it."

"Well, I have played it weekly about three months now, it wasn't that hard", she answered shrugging.

Shikamaru seemed a little surprised that Hinata of all people had played shogi, but was happy to have someone to discuss it. So he told her he had played it all his life and was quite good at it.

"Hey, Shikamaru-kun? I know someone who is much better than I am in shogi who probably would appreciate a challenge, would you like to meet him?"

"It is troublesome but I do need more challenging opponents.."

"Great! Let's see after classes at the gate and I'll take you to meet him!"

So she, Shikamaru and Sasuke walked to the Uchiha compound. Both Sasuke and Shikamaru seemed a little surprised about each other's presence (Sasuke and Hinata often walked together to the compound) but said nothing. When they came to the house, Itachi was already waiting for her downstairs.

"Oh? You brought a friend, Sasuke? It was about a time already", he commented nonchalantly.

"Tch. Hinata did, not me", was his usual answer.

"Itachi-san, this is Nara Shikamaru. He is very good at shogi so I thought you would like a more challenging game so you don't get tired of me", Hinata introduced with a little wink.

"Oh, but Hinata-chan, I would never get tired of you.."

Both Sasuke and Shikamaru stared. They were flirting. It was innocent and small but it was there. That man barely interacted with anyone and now he suddenly he was flirting with the Hyūga princess. Not to talk about shyness of said princess.

Hinata blushed but only slightly, a mark that she had got used to such conversations with Itachi.

"Itachi-san..."

Then, like nothing happened, Itachi took the board and turned to Shikamaru.

"Well, shall we play?"

And they started their game.

* * *

Shikamaru was skilled, he had to give him that. Only Itachi's playing and strategy experience allowed him to win the game. Itachi, however, knew that in a couple of years he would have absolutely no chances playing against him. Shikamaru would be an extremely beneficial person to know in the future.

Hinata was playing with Sasuke while Itachi and Shikamaru ended their game. She had first watched Itachi and Shikamaru play but grew bored and challenged Sasuke to a game. Sasuke had been reluctant and overconfident, but the game had ended to Hinata's victory because of all her hours playing with Itachi, even if her natural ability to strategy wasn't as good as Sasuke's.

"Nara-san, would you like to play some other time too? This game was most beneficial for my strategy training", asked Itachi clearly impressed with his skills.

Shikamaru accepted. He had not known that the Uchiha heir liked playing shogi but he needed more challenging opponents to play with so of course he accepted.

Hinata and Sasuke were still playing their rematch (Sasuke was a pretty sore loser and had demanded they play again) when Itachi and Sasuke's cousin Shisui appeared.

"Yo, Itachi, Sasuke! Who are these others?" he nodded while greeting his cousins.

Itachi introduced them.

"These are Hyūga Hinata and Nara Shikamaru. They are in the class as Sasuke at the Academy. Hinata here is also my fiancée and she brought Nara-san here since he was looking for new shogi opponents."

When he said the fiancée thing, Shisui, Shikamaru and Sasuke suddenly choked on what they were drinking or eating.

"You have a fiancée?!" Sasuke and Shisui screamed together. "Why have you never before said anything?!"

Shikamaru just muttered something like: "Troublesome."

Hinata blushed.

Itachi looked as neutral as ever like there was nothing new or scandalous.

"You never asked."

* * *

It didn't take long to her father to notice her periodic absence from the Hyūga compound. So, one day she had come back home for dinner, he chose to talk to her privately.

"Hinata, you have been noticed spending abnormal time outside the compound. What are you doing and where?" her father asked going straight to the point. Of course, she had attended all the compulsory Hyūga training sessions and her grades were fine in the Academy, so she had done nothing wrong, but it was still unusual for a shy girl like her to be so much away.

"Ano... I have been at the Uchiha compound.." she stated carefully.

Hiashi couldn't say he wasn't surprised. Yes, there sure was the betrothal contract between the clans but there hadn't been a formal introduction of Hinata and Itachi yet so it was unlikely she would do anything... inappropriate... with him. Was it? His gaze was questioning.

"What are you doing there?"

"Well... We have usually played shogi with my friends Shikamaru-kun, Itachi-san, Sasuke-san and their cousin Shisui-san plays with us sometimes too."

Shogi? Her daughter goes to the Uchiha compound periodically to play _shogi_? If her daughter wouldn't have so honest nature, he probably thought she was lying.

"Shogi? This is surprising. Well, how about you invite them to play here sometime? I would like to meet those who you spend so much your free time with."

Hinata shrugged. There was nothing suspicious about their gatherings after all.

"Hai, we are playing tomorrow, is it okay?"

Hiashi nodded and returned to his duties.

* * *

Her friends were a little surprised when she told her father wanted to invite them to the Hyūga compound but they accepted his invitation.

So there they were, at the one of the traditional tea rooms. Of her guests only Itachi had visited the Hyūga compound before so others were a little amazed how traditional and beautiful the compound was. Hinata's clan had always appreciated aesthetics on their free time.

Now they were sitting on the comfortable floor; Itachi was playing against Shikamaru, Shisui against Sasuke and Hinata was preparing tea for them since there were an odd number of players. She was a little nervous since her father had not still made an appearance and she almost spilled all the tea to the floor when she heard a familiar voice from the door.

"Hinata-sama."

It was Neji. He came to the room and glanced all the people there, face never changing its graceful and proper expression. Hinata smiled at him slightly.

"Neji-niisan."

"You probably don't have time to a spar, Hinata-sama?"

Sasuke looked like he wanted to ask why was the new Hyūga addressing Hinata with such honorific, but Shisui gestured him he would explain it at home. Hinata answered.

"No, we are playing shogi. Everyone, this is my cousin Neji, he is at the Academy a class higher than us. Niisan, here are Nara Shikamaru and Uchiha Sasuke, my classmates and then Uchiha Itachi, my... my..."

She was unused to call him her fiancée. Their relationship was only friendly so it was even a little weird.

"Fiancée", helped Hyūga Hiashi who had just arrived.

"And then their cousin Uchiha Shisui..." she ended quietly but all the attention was on her father. Everyone stood up to greet him and introduce as they should. Neji seemed a little startled that his uncle was so ok that there was three Uchiha at the house, but said nothing.

"So these are your friends Hinata. Well, I shall leave you to continue then", he announced and left. Neji was about to follow when Hinata had an idea.

"Niisan, would you like to play too?"

He watched her incredulously a long time but decided to stay.

* * *

After the evening at the Hyūga's they decided that even if Shikamaru thought it was a drag, it would be polite to introduce themselves at the Nara compound too. There were the best shogi boards too.

Shikamaru's father had thought the whole thing was troublesome but watched with his friend Sarutobi Asuma curiously when Itachi and Shikamaru played and conversed with Shisui about Shinobi politics at the same time. Shikamaru's mother, on the other hand, had been... interesting.

Hinata, Sasuke, and Neji had been assigned to the kitchen duty and none of them dared to say anything against it since Nara Yoshino was a very scary woman. They suddenly understood why Shikamaru and his dad thought that everything was so troublesome.

They never returned to the Nara compound after that.


	2. Fighting

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, characters or anything. This is just a hobby**

* * *

 **Chapter 2 - Fighting**

Hinata had just turned 12 when Itachi and Shisui asked if they wanted to have a spar. Hinata, Shikamaru,and Sasuke were going to graduate in half a year so they all had enough taijutsu skills for that.

It became their new tradition. Neji, Hinata, Sasuke and Shikamaru always teamed up against Itachi and Shisui, who were older and in ANBU so they always won, but with practice, the younger team's teamwork had become much better.

It was a functional team too; against two Uchiha geniuses, Sasuke's knowledge of Uchiha was necessary. Neji and Hinata had their Byakugan, ultimate taijutsu, and a very good skill to read each other's thoughts. Shikamaru was a beginner in real-life fighting strategy, but he had planned their tactics from the beginning anyway.

Their extra training never came up anywhere until about a month before graduation when they had taijutsu practice at the Academy.

"So, we are taking short spars. Are here volunteers to be first?" Iruka-sensei asked after he had explained what they were going to do.

Naruto was immediately shouting overenthusiastically that he wanted to be first and Hinata pushed her face down and tried to look invisible so Iruka-sensei wouldn't pick her. How was Naruto so confident? She couldn't help a small blush.

Then the unexpected happened. Sasuke raised his hand and Hinata's and spoke with a loud, clear voice.

"I and Hinata want to spar against each other first."

Hinata watched him in horror. Sasuke was just smirking her smugly. The whole class stared at them, even Naruto had quieted down for a moment. Hinata was embarrassed. She didn't have any skills to show. Why did Sasuke have to torment her?

"What a great idea! Uchiha Sasuke and Hyūga Hinata, step to the sparring area", Iruka instructed.

They bowed to each other. He was looking confident. She was looking nervous. Everyone was looking at her right now, after all.

Iruka was about to begin the match when suddenly Sasuke seemed to notice her nervousness signing Iruka not to start the match just yet and walked to her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, Hinata, we have sparred before and it has gone ok, just focus on the spar and not to them, ok?"

He was right. There was nothing new about this but the crowd. She nodded and took a much more confident stance and activated her Byakugan. Sasuke looked pleased and took his Uchiha style stance as well. He had not gotten his Sharingan yet.

Iruka started the match only to notice that Sasuke had already moved. Just like last week against Naruto. That move had ensured his victory then and Iruka was quite sure the same happened now until he saw Hinata had evaded it like it was the easiest thing in the world to do.

"Tricks like this don't work to me, Uchiha. Have you already forgotten I can see my back?" she said with a slightly insulting tone no one from the class had never heard from her mouth.

She proceeded to long series of swipes aiming to block his tenketsu. The crowd flinched as it was new to see her attacking this seriously with Hyūga techniques.

"Hyūga. Blocking three chakra points does absolutely nothing to me", Sasuke taunted her confidently.

"Good thing I blocked six then, Uchiha?"

He didn't waver but used the situation that her small moment of smugness had given to him and landed a strong kick to her. She flew in a rather large curve to the ground. It hurt so much. His kicks were insanely strong and receiving it had brought her at her limit.

Most of the girls in class were cheering Sasuke. Iruka was about to stop the match seeing Hinata on the ground obviously in pain when he saw Team Gai walking past the training grounds. They were probably on their way home after their daily D-rank mission.

Hinata heard Neji's voice: "Hinata-sama. Don't give up."

"Niisan..." she mumbled and tried to gather some strength.

She stood up. Neji was right. How could they ever win Itachi and Shisui if she couldn't even match her own teammate? She took her stance again and started a long series of swipes, which Sasuke evaded well. But Hinata kept patiently pushing him, never stopping her combination of swipes and punches.

Neji's words and Sasuke's kick had released adrenaline to her blood and for the first time ever she felt good and strong. She could do this. At that moment she didn't care if her opponent had been the Fourth himself, she would win this.

Sasuke's back hit a tree and Hinata's arm automatically stretched back to strike a **Hakke Kūshō** when she felt a hand stopping her. Her dream-like state shattered only to saw Sasuke's slightly terrified face.

"Hinata-sama, stop", Neji whispered to her while he held her hand and turned his face to Iruka: "Hinata-sama won the match. Sasuke-san would have died if her **Hakke Kūshō** had landed to his heart coil."

Iruka nodded: "Winner, Hyūga Hinata!"

Their class clapped awkwardly. Sasuke had never lost the match and Hinata seldom won any. And this was the first time anyone had won with a lethal strike. Hinata collapsed since the pain tolerance of the adrenaline was vanishing and effects of Sasuke's kick was starting to appear. Neji and Sasuke helped her up and to the hospital to check up.

* * *

Medic had examined her and stated she could go home, so they had decided to have early dinner at the Akimichi restaurant. They met Shikamaru and Choji there and of course stayed at their table.

"Hinata, you were awesome! Nobody can come and tell that there is no strong kunoichi after that!" praised Choji. He really was an awesome person. It was a shame so few noticed that.

"Thank you Choji-kun. Sasuke-kun, I am really sorry I almost killed you", she apologized to him embarrassed bowing to him at the same time.

"Tch. You cannot get strong without taking any risks" he commented. Neji nodded to that.

"O-oh", Hinata said, she had, of course, heard that particular sentence many times from her father before but it was now she actually realized what that meant: "Thank you for a beneficial match, Sasuke-kun!"

"Hn."

On that moment, Itachi and Shisui decided to barge in the restaurant.

"Oi, Hinata-chan! We heard you have been at the hospital today!" shouted Shisui in his unique laid-back style.

"Did you got hurt on an Academy spar?" Itachi asked with his monotonous tone.

"H-hai. I was fighting against Sasuke-kun and he managed to land a kick on me", she answered.

Shisui patted her head: "Don't worry Hinata, you will win someday for sure!"

"What a drag. Hinata won the match after almost landing **Hakke Kūshō** to Sasuke's heart after she was kicked", corrected Shikamaru.

Hinata wanted to avoid this. She really didn't know how Sasuke's brother and his cousin would react her almost killing their relative. Neji seemed to worry that too since he tensed noticeably.

Itachi's eyes turned to her curiously: "You almost killed my brother today? After he had managed to land one of his legendary strong kicks?"

She averted her eyes ashamed: "H-hai."

Her eyes widened when Shisui started patting her back: "Congratulations on your victory, Hinata! It is one step on a road to shinobi to accidentally almost kill your friend. But be more careful next time, okay?"

Itachi nodding her somehow supportively and turned his gaze to Sasuke: "You, on the other hand, perhaps noticed it is not very beneficial to play with a Hyūga."

He grunted something like an agreement.

Even if Hinata had not received any serious injuries from her earlier battle, she grew tired pretty soon. Sasuke and Neji had, however, started to get along well and she didn't want to force Neji to leave yet by asking him to escort her home.

She was dozing off sitting on her seat when she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Itachi's.

"Hinata-chan? Do you want me to escort you home?" She nodded so he helped her up.

"Hinata-sama? Do you wish to go home?" asked Neji, who just noticed her.

"Hai. Itachi-san promised to escort me", she answered.

Neji looked a little suspicious but decided after receiving a subtle glare from Itachi that she could go with him.

They left the restaurant only to hear Shisui shouting: "Be nice, Itachi!" only to receive Itachi rolling him his eyes.

It was weird to be alone with him. After she had brought Shikamaru to the Uchiha compound to play shogi for the first time, they had sure seen each other a lot but there had always been others.

They were walking in silence which gave Hinata time to think after the eventful day. Itachi was very nice to offer to escort her home but in a situation like this, it really felt they had nothing in common or even nothing to talk about. Not to talk about her crush on Naruto that had not vanished anywhere.

Sure, she knew Itachi much better that before and she had noticed he was an awesome person. She was truly glad they were friends. But, looking at him didn't make her feel like looking at Naruto did. He was so much older than her it would have been only weird to think about him like that.

"Hinata-chan? What are you thinking?" he asked. Hinata had probably looked weird since there was a hint of worry in Itachi's voice.

"What if this doesn't work? What if I never start loving you and then you are stuck with a wife who doesn't and then I will be bothering you even more than now and..."

He took her for a friendly hug.

"Shhh, Hinata-chan. Don't stress so much. You are only 12, there is plenty of time before anything happens", he soothed her.

Salty tears were dropping to Hinata's cheeks. He kneeled in front of her to dry them.

"Are you more worried about that you need to marry someone you don't want to or that you will somehow ruin my life?"

Hinata's eyes widened: "No! You understood wrong! I don't want to marry anyone but you... I mean... You know what I mean. But I don't want to be a bother..."

"Then I assure you, you have nothing to worry about. We are friends, right? Even if you don't end up falling for me I am luckier than many in our situation to have a girl like you by my side, don't you think?"

"I don't know..."

"Try to not to stress out so much. And if something bothers you, you know you can always tell me."

"H-hai..."

Itachi thought for a minute before taking a curious-looking necklace off him and put it to her.

"Here. I was supposed to give this to you when you turn 16, but you have proved so many times you are already worth it. Think it as a promise that I will be there no matter what the situation or your feelings were."

"I-Itachi... You don't need to..."

"I want to."

"Then I... I want to promise to do my best as well..."

He nodded and they walked to the gates of the Hyūga.

* * *

"Ooooh, Hinata! What is that on your neck?!"

It was Ino. It was always Ino who noticed these things and obviously needed to shout them to everybody as well.

"What is there? Show me, Hinata-chan! I want to see!" shouted Naruto. Sakura hit him to the head which made him whine.

"What a drag", muttered Shikamaru when he saw Hinata blushing under the attention of the whole class.

"I-It's a necklace..."

"That stone is so beautiful! It must have been expensive!" Ino squeaked. That rose Sasuke's curiosity.

He walked lazily to Hinata's desk and commanded others with his most impressive voice: "Leave her alone." Others took a step back but kept the attention to Sasuke and Hinata.

He watched the piece of jewelry curiously, then turned his eyes to hers and started smirking. If she was wearing the necklace, the whole engagement issue was kind of public information, so why not having some fun?

"Sasuke-kun? Do you know something we don't?" asked Sakura, who as a clever girl had picked up there was more to this story.

To everyone's surprise, he actually answered: "Yeah."

Naruto looked he barely could contain himself: "Then tell us already, Teme!"

He shrugged.

"That necklace is a part of an old Uchiha tradition. For who knows how many generations it has been given from one of our clan as a sign of love and devotion. It is kind of like an engagement ring."

Hinata's eyes widened. Itachi had not spoken anything about that! The whole class watched shocked. Ino and Sakura seemed to be about to cry.

"Sa-Sasuke-kun, you never said you already had a girlfriend..." they sobbed, clearly assuming the necklace was Sasuke's. There were no other Uchiha currently at the Academy after all.

Sasuke smirked even wider. Hinata looked she wanted to vanish. She always hated attention.

"Oh no... That necklace is not mine."

The silence was unbreakable.

"Then whose it is?!" shouted almost the whole class clearly ignoring the fact that they could just ask Hinata.

At that time, Iruka stepped to the classroom.

"Maa, maa, class. Calm down, It is time to start the lecture!"

The whole class quieted down but kept glancing at Hinata. Iruka continued.

"Today our subject of the day is ANBU Black Ops. About this has come to tell us Uchiha Itachi, who serves currently as a captain of an ANBU squad."

Itachi stepped in and Hinata wanted to vanish even more. Nobody had ever witnessed Sasuke smirking like he did now.

"Niisan. What an _excellent_ surprise this is."

"Ototo", he answered nodding and clearly unbothered by his suggestive tone. Iruka, however, watched them and wondered what was this all about.

Itachi had told about his work in ANBU and how the division generally worked.

"Now, does anyone have questions?" he asked like one usually do after a lecture.

Sasuke didn't bother to raise his hand when he asked: "Have you recently given any girls jewelry?"

The whole class gasped and turned their heads to Hinata.

"Excellent question,ototo. Any other ones? About ANBU this time?"

* * *

It was so humiliating. Hinata wanted to die. All that attention because of a thing she had no control over. Her face was burning. She was so shocked she didn't almost hear she was being called.

"Hinata? Are you there?"

It was Iruka-sensei. He had somehow understood what was going on, he had been aware of the contract between clans after all, and had gone to calm Hinata down, Itachi following closely.

"H-Hai sensei, Itachi-san..." she answered clearly dazed from a shock.

"A word, Hinata? Could you be kind and explain the situation to everyone, Umino-san? Sasuke, please prepare to die once we get home", told Itachi professionally leaking some killing intent to his brother's direction and making a few students flinch.

Hinata followed him to the hallway. He soothingly caressed her hair.

"Are you okay, Hinata? My foolish brother doesn't always think things through."

"H-Hai, Itachi-san. B-but why didn't you tell me about the l-l-love and d-devotion part of this n-necklace?" she sniffed.

Itachi chuckled a little.

"So ototo told you about that? Hinata. Don't worry what others think. I told you last night why I gave you that necklace and I meant every word I said."

"You are right... I am acting foolishly.."

He took her hand supportively to his.

"Now, go back to class. There is nothing to be ashamed of."

"Hai."

She went to the classroom returned to her seat.

* * *

Hinata had suddenly become the most popular girl at the Academy. Especially the girls in her class thought that the whole arranged marriage thing was romantic and that her fiancée was some kind of god.

So they asked about it. A lot. Shikamaru, Choji, and Sasuke had had lunch at her table but seemed suffering being bombarded by questions.

"Do you love him?" questioned Sakura.

Hinata felt a little heat on her cheeks: "Umm..."

Ino luckily interrupted: "Have you already kissed him?"

Hinata and Sasuke choked on their lunches.

"Of course not!" she shouted embarrassed.

"What?" asked Ino: "I would have! Did you guys even _see_ him?"

"Can you not talk about my brother? I'm trying to eat here", Sasuke complained.

"Why did he give the necklace?" asked Sakura totally ignoring Sasuke's complaining. That seemed to interest Sasuke too so he didn't stop her.

Hinata blushed.

"Ummm, he said that it's a promise to be there no matter what happens.." she explained.

Ino and Sakura squeaked: "Soooo romantic!"

Sasuke acted vomiting but started smirking after that.

"Please don't do that. We are just friends! He is older than I am so it's a little weird right now..."

"Nonsense! True love doesn't look age", told Ino knowingly.

Hinata didn't know which part of her life was 'true love' right now but decided to stay quiet.


	3. Seduction

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, characters or anything. This is just a hobby**

* * *

 **Chapter 3 – Seduction**

The first time Hinata, Neji, Sasuke, and Shikamaru managed to win a spar against Itachi and Shisui was a day before their graduation. It was mostly because of Shikamaru's truly genius plan (which Itachi wanted to take to the village main strategist right away), but the plan needed flawless teamwork so they had all celebrated their success and skill.

And then the day of their graduation became. The graduation exam had been straight-forward; They needed to perform a substitution, transformation and a clone to pass. Hinata and her friends passed rather easily. Her long-time inspiration and crush, Naruto, however, didn't seem to get the amount of chakra right to make a clone because he had it too much.

She wondered if she should tell someone about her observations, the teacher didn't have Byakugan after all, but her shyness won and she kept quiet. She scolded herself of that while she watched him sitting on a swing sad and alone while others were congratulated by their relatives and friends. She saw Mizuki-sensei talking to Naruto for some time and then leaving.

"Hinata-chan? Do you want to come with us to the Akimichi restaurant to celebrate our passing the exams? My parents are treating!" asked Choji her after the parents had done the congratulating.

Of course, she wished to go, but her sorrow for Naruto and her shame of her own actions (or lack of them) kept her going.

"I would like to, but I have a thing to do. How about we'll see there later?" she answered her eyes locked to Naruto.

"Troublesome. You heard her, let's go", she heard Shikamaru announce while she was still watching Naruto.

"Naruto-kun?" she carefully asked while walking next to him.

He rose his face from the ground and looked at her incredulously.

"I.. I just wanted to say that I have watched you for a long time and I know you should have passed..." she said to him.

He stared at her. This was clearly the first time anyone had said anything like a compliment to him. The he started grinning at her and gave her thumbs up.

"Thank you Hinata-chan! But I gotta tell you a secret. Mizuki-sensei told me there is a secret second test and I'm gonna pass that! Dattebaiyo!"

"Secret test? I have not heard about that... Maybe you should as Iruka-sensei about it first..."

"Sorry, Hinata-chan but I need to go to the Hokage tower soon to see if I get a scroll. If there's a chance to pass I gotta use it, so I can become the greatest Hokage!"

"Please, Naruto-kun, listen to me, you don't need to do anything like that..."

But he sprinted away and Hinata stayed staring his back. She needed to tell Itachi before Naruto did anything irreversible.

* * *

"ITACHI!" she shouted at the door of his house while smacking the door furiously. It opened only to reveal a very surprised Uchiha Mikoto.

"Hinata-chan? What are you doing?" she asked wide-eyed when Hinata rushed past her inside and upstairs.

"No time. Sorry about the intrusion!"

She didn't bother knocking and rushed to Itachi's room where he was writing something, probably a mission report on his desk.

"Hinata-chan, what a nice surprise, you managed to pass..."

"No time! Naruto-kun didn't pass the exams because he can't do a clone because he has so much chakra and he told me that Mizuki-sensei had told him to get a scroll at the Hokage tower as a second test, I tried to talk him out of it but..."

He stood up immediately and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Hinata. As a superior officer, I order you to go get Iruka-sensei and bring him to the Hokage office. I will check Uzumaki-san."

Hinata swallowed and nodded. There was nothing to say since she had gotten a straight order from her superior. She rushed out of the compound hearing Itachi shunshin out.

When Hinata and a little startled Iruka-sensei had gotten to the Hokage tower, Sandaime and Naruto were waiting for them already.

It turned out that Naruto had managed to learn the Shadow clone technique while waiting for Mizuki-sensei and his training was interrupted by Itachi and his ANBU squad who had sent him back to the Hokage tower with the scroll. Itachi's squad had stayed and laid a trap to Mizuki.

Sandaime and Iruka listened both Naruto and Hinata's version of the events after they decided let Naruto graduate after learning to make a solid clone. Hinata, who had acted on orders in a matter of village security got her first C-rank mission.

It was probably the first time her father had really complimented her.

* * *

After a week they had been assigned to the teams. Her team consisted of Aburame Shino and Inuzuka Kiba led by Konoha's genjutsu mistress Yuhi Kurenai. They had immediately started to get along, so Hinata's small hope of being in a familiar team with Shikamaru, Choji or Sasuke vanished quickly.

They had been assigned for three months of D-rank missions before they got their first C-rank. It was a normal escorting mission to Sunagakure and it went without complications. The great surprise came after they came back when Kurenai-sensei announced that Hinata was required to participate in lessons of seduction with her classmates Ino and Sakura.

She would have been blatantly lying if she said this didn't bother her – it greatly did. Usually, in a situation like this, she would go straight to Itachi, who would tell her this was a normal thing to do as a kunoichi. But she just couldn't, partly because she didn't have the confidence to master such a skill and she didn't want to show her insecurity to him.

So she kept it a secret when she walked to the first lesson. Ino and Sakura were so thrilled to learn how to get boys (especially Uchiha Sasuke) wrapped around their fingers that they didn't seem to even hear what their teacher said. Hinata, as a shy girl, however, grabbed her every word.

Seduction was a subtle art of gathering information using one's body. It was mostly taught to kunoichi because especially men were usually sensitive to this kind of approach. Hinata was delighted to hear that a skilled seductress didn't have to partake any sexual acts at all.

Their education had started with exercises to raise their confidence by analyzing what kind of things made them feel good or what kind of clothing suited them best and things like that.

Hinata had to admit she liked the seduction lessons – instead of rigid acting she had thought they would be, the whole point seemed to be yourself and feel good about it. Completely opposite what her clan encouraged her to do.

The first uncomfortable surprise was when their teacher had asked them to find a practicing partner. She had recommended it to be a male you felt safe with – a brother or a good friend who understood why they were doing this. She had, however, allowed using a girlfriend too if feeling too insecure.

She would have without hesitation taken the girlfriend option if she hadn't promised herself not to take the easy way out of anything after almost killing Sasuke. She had first thought she should practice with Neji-niisan but thought that she really didn't want to emphasize to any of her clan members she was learning these kinds of skills.

And that's why she steeled herself and once again found herself at the Uchiha compound.

* * *

"Itachi, I need you to do some training with me", she went straight to the point.

She felt his gaze turn to her curiously.

"Well, I believe you can join when I spar with Sasuke, but he has some kind of competition with Uzumaki-san so he trains kind of hard.." he answered while moving his paperwork from a pile to another.

Hinata couldn't help a blush and a small rise of her pulse. She was truly scared of what would Itachi think of her.

"No... It's not like that, I can spar with my teammates and niisan perfectly well... I... I was required to take lessons in... seduction..." she stammered.

His eyes widened but just a little. Hinata had managed to surprise him once again. His expression turned to a little smirk.

"Oh?"

"O-our teacher told us to get a practicing partner who we felt safe with. I first thought niisan, but it would be even weirder than with you..."

"I understand. I accept. What do I need to do?" he interrupted. He had never even heard that kunoichi started these kinds of lessons this early. It would be interesting to see how they were trained.

"Ummm... I need to train to look people in the eyes without blushing or giggling or feeling awkward..."

He shrugged and smiled a little.

"I think that can be handled."

He took her hand and guided her next to him to sit on his bed and she started.

Hinata thought it took frustratingly long and Itachi must have gotten tired of her inability, but he patiently kept turning her head back to him if she tried to avert her eyes and commanding her to continue of she reacted any other way.

It sure was embarrassing as hell but it worked. After staring at his dark gray orbs for almost two hours it had become routine and looking at him felt so much easier. She even felt a little proud of herself while she was walking back home.

Next week (and many weeks after that) they focused on her stuttering. He was there when Hinata decided to shop her a little more beautiful clothes and grow her hair out. She really felt insecure showing too much skin so she ended up getting a traditional kimono-like outfit that was in every way much more womanly than her previous coat even if it wasn't very revealing.

* * *

After a year of training purely focusing on students' confidence, their teacher couldn't believe her eyes. All of them had progressed, but the most dashing change was in Hinata. Sure, she was still shy in nature, but it didn't control her or her work anymore.

Hinata was a natural in this art. She maybe had not noticed it herself, but even if they had not learned any actual techniques yet, she was seducing people daily. Now that the traits that let people just walk over her were gone, her subtle innocence made it very hard to deny her anything.

Her teammates were in her tight leash and they didn't even realize to complain about that. Liked it even. Shopkeepers loved her and she was a well-liked addition to other ninja teams as well. Only people who didn't seem to fall her charm was her crush, Uzumaki Naruto, who seemed to be only obsessed about his competition with Uchiha Sasuke.

Even Itachi, who was known not to fall in any kind of seduction (he had his fangirls, after all), knew there would be no chance for him if she really tried. As her practicing partner, he needed to stay strong, it would not help at all if their interaction turned weird.

It, however, turned to be harder and harder every day. When Hinata was 15, they had started to learn very straightforward seduction techniques and together with her personality they were a lethal combination.

It didn't make the situation easier that she wasn't certainly a child anymore. Not physically or in her behavior. Yes, he had been fond of her for a long time, but only now he had started to feel physical attraction.

He had to admit that he had never felt good about Hinata's crush on Uzumaki Naruto, but nowadays it irked him only to think that she would be even thinking of someone else but him. Of course, she had proved her loyalty many times, but it just wasn't enough. He wanted her everything to only himself. He, as a smart person, of course never let his thoughts show.

The funny thing was that during their training she had not done a single indecent thing to him. Her way was a subtle combination of words, looks, and only some slight touches to emphasize her other body language. That, however, didn't stop _him_ wanting to grab her to his lap and kiss her until she didn't remember her own name or anyone else's but his.

* * *

So, now that there was only a month to Hinata's 16th birthday, he decided he couldn't stay as her test dummy anymore or he'd do something stupid.

"Hinata, I can't do this anymore."

Her eyes went to the size of plates and she was forming a slight pout with her lips. He was cursing in his head why this had to be so damn hard.

"Itachi, what are you saying? My final exam is soon, I need to train harder than ever. Now come here and let me seduce you!" Hinata exclaimed clearly unaware her effect on people around her.

Itachi didn't exactly blush but felt a little warm. He swallowed from a thought of hard training. He steeled himself.

"Hinata, I need to say this straight. Your seduction works too well, I am not a neutral training partner anymore."

"What do you mean? You just... oh..."

She seemed to realize what he meant. In situations like this, her shyness came up since she still couldn't believe someone could really like her like that.

"Well, Itachi, maybe I should train some other way..."

"No. You can seduce anyone you want to. You are completely ready for the test."

Hinata didn't seem so sure about that. Itachi smiled at her.

"Now, Hinata, when my... feelings were revealed, I would be honored if you let me take you on a date", he said with a serious tone eyes tightly on hers.

Her eyes widened: "But the engagement party is still a month away..."

"Yes, I am aware of that. But I wish you would forget about that and accept because I asked and not because someone had made a contract about this."

She blushed.

"I... You are right. I would like to go on a date with you, Itachi."

"Good. I will pick you up tomorrow at six."

She sure did know shy she smiled so widely the rest of the day.

* * *

 _The day was going so slowly it felt like a torture. She had not thought about Itachi and her as a couple almost at all, so it was quite surprising that she waited for her date with him so much. Of course, she had noticed how attractive he was, but so were many others and appearance had never been the main reason for her to be attracted._

But Itachi had been there for her almost six years already without any guarantees to have something back himself. She couldn't understand him. He could have had _anyone_ from the village and here he was waiting for Hinata to decide what she wanted to do.

Of course, she had known for long that this was a man who deserved a real chance, but now she realized that it wasn't going to be enough. He deserved every single thing she had to offer just like he had given her.

She felt herself warming. It wasn't a repulsive thought to share absolutely everything with Itachi. She felt so safe with Itachi. She already cared about him deeply. She admired his resolve to keep his promises. It was weird to think about him as a spouse, but not repelling. Even if his role in her life to this moment had been like a big brother's, she had never thought of him as such.

Then she realized something. Yes, she had had a crush on Naruto, and it had caused her a small butterfly-like feeling on her stomach. She had been so keen on waiting for a similar feeling when she thought of Itachi, that she had not noticed there were absolutely nothing similar about her feelings for him than for Naruto.

If her feelings for Naruto were a wave, then thinking of Itachi was a Tsunami. Her feelings for him certainly weren't and had never been a crush. She had already been deeply in love with him for months, if not years.

So when he finally arrived to get her she was so excited she couldn't stay still. She had been waiting for him at the gates almost for half an hour before he arrived. Neji had teased her about that but she was too much in her own world to care.

When he arrived, she would have wanted to leave immediately with him but he was a gentleman and wanted to speak to her father and give her flowers. She went to put them in the vase while Itachi talked to her father.

Apparently Itachi and her father had not had much to talk since he came to retrieve her from the tearoom 10 minutes after. They left the compound only to go to the forest.

"Mm... Itachi? Where are we going?"

"I thought it would be nicer to have some privacy so I prepared a picnic. Does that sound bad?"

"No, it sounds wonderful!"

He smiled at her.

It was awkward. She was so excited but still so tense she couldn't talk with him normally. Still she knew she wanted to be nowhere else this moment. It was clear Itachi tried his best to lighten the mood but Hinata just couldn't focus.

"Hinata? Don't be so nervous. It is still me."

"H-hai... It is just new and my thoughts.."

He turned her head to look at him and pushed her hair behind her ear. She felt like small shocks were sent from his fingers. Unconsciously she leaned to him. Her mind was blank because of her nervousness and the new sensations his touch caused.

"Mmm... Itachi, that feels good..." she mumbled not thinking about what he was thinking of her at all.

"Oh? What were you thinking before, Hinata?" he continued stroking her hair.

"Mmm... I think I am falling for you.." her eyes snapped wide open after realizing what she had just said. "I mean... You know... I don't know.."

He didn't seem to react much, but his smile turned slightly smug.

"Good. We understand each other, then?"

At that moment, Hinata understood all the possibilities. Now that they were on the same page and going the same direction it felt everything was possible. She didn't know if he had scooped her to his lap or if she had climbed there herself – probably both – but all the tension had turned to the need to get him close. They kissed, again and again.

His kisses were so addictive. She honestly didn't know if she could ever end this. She felt his hand behind her head guiding her head to a better angle. Her hands were found their way to his neck. Then he stopped but never separated her.

"Hinata, I... Please marry me..."

She wanted to remind him that they were already engaged but heard herself saying instead: "Yes, Itachi. Yes..."

"I'm glad", he said against her lips before capturing them again in a kiss.

* * *

Hinata didn't know how she managed to do her duty as a shinobi because she constantly felt like flying. Before she had felt nervous about the engagement party but now it couldn't arrive too fast. Her steps felt so light and she felt like singing every day. Even those rainy ones.

The only thing she was worried about was the seduction test. How could she seduce some random chunin or jounin if the only thing she could think of was Itachi?

"You kissed him, didn't you?" Ino had observed her behavior right away while waiting for their seduction teacher coming. She felt her cheeks redden a little but nodded confirming her suspicions.

"At last! I would have done it times ago... Sooo, Hinata, how was it?" her voice turned to teasing.

"Mmm.. it felt nice", she answered not really understanding what she could say to that. She felt these things were kind of private.

They were interrupted by their teacher who announced the final exams were held next week.

* * *

She was completely nervous when she waited her turn to do her exam. Ino had been first and told it was a piece of cake. Apparently she had been given a target and what kind of information she had needed to get from him.

Sakura had been next and had appeared looking very smug. She had succeeded as well. Hinata was very nervous. What if she was the only one to fail? Her fears turned out correct when she was told that her target would be _Hatake Kakashi_ and she needed to make him tell what was the animal of his ANBU mask when he still served ANBU.

She was shocked. Had Ino and Sakura really managed to complete a test this hard? How do you seduce a person who didn't avert his eyes from his books for a second?

The first part was easy. She found him at the training ground 7 under a tree reading 'Make-out Tactics'. This was not going to be easy, but she needed to at least try. Maybe they just don't send her to these missions if she failed?

"Good afternoon, Kakashi-sensei."

Good. A firm and confident greeting is a base of every interaction.

"Afternoon, Hinata. What brings you here?"

"Just walking. And you?"

"Reading."

"O-oh.."

Silence. He turned his attention back to the book. Hinata groaned in her mind. He was very professionally blocking every natural conversation-starter by focusing on the book instead of her. What should she do in this situation? The protocol said something surprising might work.

So she surprised even herself by crawling under his book held by his arms and sat between his legs. It was very good tactic since in this position he couldn't escape and definitely not ignore her.

"What are you doing, Hinata?"

She turned the book so that she could see it too.

"Reading."

Kakashi tried to inch away from her but she pressed her back to him. She felt him stiffen.

"What are you really doing, Hinata?"

"Seducing you. But don't worry, I am not going to do anything weird. I have a fiancée after all", she said while smiling suspiciously looking like she meant exactly opposite.

He looked a little uncomfortable but didn't say anything.

She decided to take off her overcoat, it was kind of warm in this position after all. She proceeded to read his book... out loud. She made sure to pick the most embarrassing scene, her tactic would not work if she wasn't proceeding fast.

But luck was on her side. She felt Sakura walking this way and would surely notice them in half a minute if this continued. She smirked and turned her face to him.

"Tell me your ANBU codename and I will leave. No one will ever know and you save your authority in your student's eyes."

He looked like he really wanted to take the easy way out, but as a shinobi, he, of course, noticed there was something fishy about this.

"Doesn't Itachi be bothered you doing this?" he asked hoping she would get confused and back out.

"This is my job. He understands since he trained with me after all. Now choose."

She pressed tighter to him whispering her warning to his ear. He seemed to realize how dangerous it was to play with someone who was able to seduce the stoic Uchiha and he decided it was easier to just tell her what she needed to know. This wasn't about his mask or books or something _truly_ important, after all.

"Alright, it was Dog. Now leave", he said, keeping the little authority he still had in his voice.

"Thank you, sensei!" she exclaimed happily hugging him tightly. He seemed a little bothered and distracted by the combination of the innocence of the gesture and the fact that her rather large breasts were rubbing against him so she decided to make her victory even greater.

"And I shall also be taking this.."

She grabbed his book and vanished only a second before Sakura came to his vision. It took five to realize that his precious book was gone.

Hinata opened 'Make-out Tactics', reading it while she paced back to the Academy where she was supposed to report after the test. She knocked the door and went in.

"Mission successful, target's ANBU identity was Dog", she reported.

Her teacher looked a little surprised she had actually managed to get the information but smiled her supportively and congratulated her for passing. Iruka, who had been there too, however, stared at the book in her hands incredulously.

"Is that book Kakashi's?" he asked.

"Well, technically it's mine now..." Hinata answered smugly and left the room. She heard Iruka wondering if they should be happy or worried for Itachi to marry such a skilled seductress.

* * *

Soon it was time for the engagement party at the Hyūga compound. The evening had contained dancing, talking to their friends and of course a very tasty cake. Hinata had needed to continue her newest hobby; running away from Kakashi, who wanted his book back. Luckily, her fiancée helped her, since he thought Kakashi deserved his destiny after years of bullying him in ANBU.

The wedding day had been decided to be in a year – their parents would have wanted to wait for at least two but Itachi and Hinata themselves saw no need to wait. The party had been a total success, almost everyone had had a great time. Well, everyone except Sasuke.

"Hinata, would you like to come to a little walk with me?" Itachi asked her after dancing.

"I would like to, Itachi, but I have something to do first" she answered. He looked a little curious.

She walked to the table where Sasuke sat and sat next to him.

"Sasuke, why are you not with our friends? This is supposed to be a fun event", she asked him.

He grunted and continued staring at the dancefloor where in addition to everyone else Naruto and Sakura were dancing and clearly having a lot of fun doing so. Sakura seemed to laugh at something he had said so hard it seemed very difficult to dance at the same time.

Hinata let her gaze wander between them and Sasuke and she suddenly realized something.

"Oh my God. You love Naruto, don't you? All the competitions with him and everything..." she asked him straightforwardly. Itachi, who had appeared behind her, rose his eyebrows.

"What? Why would I love the Dobe? It is absurd..." Hinata shot him a very knowing look. "Yeah, I love him", he admitted after a very futile attempt to deny it.

"You need to tell him right now", Hinata said with a strong voice.

Sasuke looked her like crazy.

"How about no."

"Come on! Do it as a wedding present for me!" She pleaded. Itachi said nothing but nodded as a sign that it was okay to him.

"But my parents..."

"I promise I and Itachi will be making so many babies your parents don't need to worry about you."

The declaration brought a small blush on both Uchiha brother's cheeks. You never expected an innocent Hinata to say such things. She continued.

"Sasuke, you are like my brother and Naruto was my first love. I want you both to be happy and I just know you won't be happy without each other."

Sasuke seemed to think about this seriously.

"Sasuke, please, just go and talk to him. I am sure he feels the same way."

He surprised them by standing up and walking to the dance floor, dragging Naruto away with him. Hinata turned to Itachi and smiled to him.

"Are you bothered by this?" she asked.

"Well, I cannot say this wasn't a surprise, but I have never wanted anything but my brother's happiness", he answered. "Now, shall I take you to the walk I offered earlier?

Hinata nodded and let Itachi take her hand barely able to wait for their life together.


End file.
